Alcoholism Support Group
Alcoholism is the continued consumption of alcoholic beverages, even when it is negatively affecting your health, work, relationships and life. If you think alcohol is causing you to lose control, it's time to seek help. Our group is a safe place to vent, check in, get back up if you fall, and reach sobriety.
hi all
I'm new here, just finding my way around, starting to get concerned that I might have a problem
What you have described is known in AA as an obsession for alcohol.
While some people can quit and stay sober with relative ease, most who have an obsession for alcohol find it much more difficult. That is why it is so disingenuous and downright dangerous when people say something like “I quit without AA” and imply that others should be able to do the same.
An obsession can be described as an idea that overcomes all other ideas. Therefore, if you have an obsession for alcohol, you are likely to be thinking about it constantly, even though you have decided to quit. The thought that in spite of all of the bad things that happened in the past due to drinking that “It will be different this time” is known as the insanity of alcoholism. The AA programme of recovery is designed to restore sanity, that is, to remove the obsession for alcohol. The Big Book gives a set of promises regarding how good life will be without alcohol (Step 10 Promises, pages 84 and 85, Alcoholics Anonymous, Fourth Edition).
I am not suggesting that AA is the only way but I know from my own experience that the programme of recovery does remove the obsession for alcohol. You can quit and prove that you can stop drinking but can you be sober for the longer term and happy about it? Quitting is a good starting point but you may need to do more.